Reimold’s early exit was odd, especially considering Reimold had just hit his first homer of the spring, a towering two-run shot to left off James McDonald that gave the Orioles a three-run lead in the bottom of the second inning.

“He said it feels fine,” manager Buck Showalter said after the Orioles’ 6-5 win over Pittsburgh at Ed Smith Stadium. “Just throwing between innings, it was kind of barking. No reason to stay out there. With all he’s had, you take precaution with it. I don’t think it’s related [to his neck injury from last year], but we’ll see. You’re dealing with a lot of different nerves and stuff. We’ll see what the next couple days bring.”

Reimold played in just 16 games last season. He had season-ending neck surgery in June to repair a herniated disk and have two vertebrae fused. This spring, a major goal has been regaining strength in his left arm, which was atrophied from the injury.

Because of that, the Orioles have been careful with Reimold’s playing time, even though Showalter called Reimold a “full go.”

Showalter said Reimold complained of the soreness before his home-run at-bat. Reimold’s homer was his first his in eight spring at bats.

“It’s real encouraging to him,” Showalter said of the home run. “Nolan’s been having good [batting practice] and everything, so it doesn’t come as a surprise, but you could tell he was [pleased]. You could probably tell it made coming out of the game a little bit better.”